I have recently inherited two old, but new-to-me cameras, which also contained rolls of film that are currently being developed by a company in the U.S. Photo by Chuck Swinden.

I ended the year on a positive note, and thanks to someone who knows all too well I will never say no to any camera looking for a new home, I ended up inheriting a couple just before the year’s end.

These were not the more common film SLR type, but even earlier models — ones that, in fact, are what we call medium-format types. One was an actual Kodak Brownie.

Setting eyes on them for the very first time was nothing short of exhilarating; for someone like me who likes these old beauties, it’s like finding a long lost friend.

Better yet, it’s an incredible surprise to find out that inside these cameras there are rolls of film that most likely don’t stand much of chance of having anything left on them that’s salvageable, but the possibility and very slim chance that an image may still be on that roll somewhere.

Better yet again, I found a firm in the U.S. that actually can develop such film, and it doesn’t end there, because they even have access to replacement film.

So as I go through the motion of cleaning and caressing these beauties with a love and passion, I can’t wait for the return and results of the film sent out. Who knows, there may be some pictures of a an important dignitary from a time gone by, or perhaps a picture of a loved one from the war years — the possibilities are endless.

They may just be run-of-the-mill pictures of family and friends, and of course the possibility exits that nothing at all will surface out of the roll.

But all said and done, no matter what, I am looking forward to placing a new roll of film in these gems, and taking pictures in a way all but forgotten. I’m going to take pictures of places here in town like they would have been taken so many years ago.

The result should be quite interesting, and who knows, maybe by some strange magic the camera will go back in time and see what once was there. After all, I have said before that to me a camera is a time machine.

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